U.S. President Donald Trump expressed disappointment over not receiving a Nobel Prize during a speech at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, delivered ahead of the country’s 250th Independence anniversary celebrations. While highlighting America’s achievements, Trump noted that the United States has won the most Olympic medals and Nobel Prizes globally, then joked that he himself had not received one. He claimed to have stopped eight wars and therefore considered himself deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump’s interest in the Nobel Peace Prize is longstanding. Since the start of his second term, he has publicly asserted his worthiness for the award. Earlier in January, he said no one in history deserved the prize more than he did. The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize went to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who symbolically offered her medal to Trump, prompting the Nobel Committee to clarify that only official laureates hold the award’s recognition.

According to White House sources, Trump views the Nobel Prize as the ultimate validation of his diplomatic legacy, a sentiment echoed by a former aide last year.